The massive blonde bearded warrior huffs as no one inside answers him, for a brief moment considering to simply kick the door in to be able to make sure that Bart was alright in there, but then he decides to check the shack first, listening at it first before opening it, ready with Skullcrusher in case there are toothy dragon chicken hiding in there.

Perception: 18

Well, at least they know these dragon chickens can't open windows!

Ember grunts as she tries to lift it open. Aggie jumps down off her head to help as well, his little squirrel fingers trying to find purchase beneath the bottom rail.

Deciding more practical matters are necessary, Ozyre hops up onto the windowsill that Ember is struggling on. "Can I help?" His tiny magic muscles do a tiny magic flex as he assists in getting through. If the combined strength of a librarian, a wizard, and a squirrel can't make a way into this house, nothing can!

Ember smiles up at Ozyre then furrows her brow with determination, bolstered by her new friend. "Opeeeeenn--hhrrgghh," she wedges her monkey feet against the wall for leverage, "sesame seeds!"


((Strength check: Nat 20!! for a 19 total hahaha
Rolled for Aggie too just for fun and he got a 16-4=12 lol! Look at them go!))

The kenku stands unbothered in the rain, his form fading to a humanoid silhouette in the gloom and downpour.  Eventually, satisfied that no ambush is to be sprung, he walks closer to the field.  

Is it possible to tell if this was ever planted this season?  Or has the field been fallow for some time?  Investigation:  14

Ember and Ozyre (and possibly Aggie) manage to slide the window up and open it. There is now a way inside. Though visibility is minimal, you see a decently furnished living room. There are two couches facing each other with a coffee table in the centre and a chair in the corner. Ozyre, with his darkvision, would see a fireplace over to the side. 

Thurodim, with his weapon in hand, slides the shack’s door open. Inside there is darkness and silence. Stepping inside, you manage to catch glimpses of its content thanks to the dying daylight outside. The walls are covered with shelves and farming tools. Pitchforks, hoes, shovel, sickles, etc. Closed crates are piled up in a corner.

[Sound of Cork Popping], unbothered by the rain, goes to investigate the fields. Though the rain is not helping, you do notice some strange details about the field. There are parts of it that are indeed fallow. But the job seems uneven, almost like they began working on it, but stopped partway through. There are also parts that have remnants of crops that have been left to wilt.

The massive blonde beared and now very drenched warrior huffs with disappointment as he finds no monsters in the shelter to slay with his mighty hammer, then turning to rejoin with the others. "Tell them to let us in." He says a bit gruffly to Ember and Ozyre as they peek through the now open window.

"Okay! I'll tell them if there's a them to tell!" Ember climbs in through the window, thinking little of the ethics of breaking and entering. They didn't have to break anything to enter, after all, so surely it doesn't count!

She waits for her eyes to adjust to the darkness, but the interior continues to hold only indiscriminate shapes and silhouettes. A tiny little noise of fear catches in her throat as she quickly fetches her matchbook from a little tin that keeps them dry. Striking up a flame, she sighs with relief as light fills the room, chasing the shadows up along the walls. She immediately waves her hand above the tiny flickering fire, fingers moving as though strings were attached to it as she puppeteers it to grow brighter. 

Ember makes note of the fireplace, then hurries to the door to see if she can unlock it to let the others in. "I don't see any 'them,' but there's a me and me will let you in!"

((Could she have seen in passing if there were already logs in the fireplace?))

(The fireplace currently has some burned out logs. But the wood basket holds a few more logs that you could burn.)

As you light the fireplace, the flames slowly start casting the darkness of the room away. A dim yet warm glow now lights the room, enough for you to discern more details about the room. On the coffee table between the couches, there is a dragonchess board with a game seemingly in progress. There seems to be a fine layer of dust accumulated on the table, as well as the floor. 

Over the mantle of the fireplace, a frame displays a painting with several figures on it. The one in the centre is a human man with carrot-red colored hair and broad shoulders. On his left stands a woman with long curly dark hair and another man bearing the distinctive features of a half-orc. Both of them are holding hands. On the left, there is another human man, a bit younger and more lean than the other one wearing a beret. Below all of them, you recognize the figures of Lewin and Hein, the two halfing brothers (or were they cousins) you met earlier today.

As you make your way to the main foyer of the house, you see a staircase leading up and a corridor leading further to the back of the house. You manage to find the front door and unlock it to let everyone into the mudroom. 

Ozyre gestures for [Sound of Cork Popping] and Thurodim to enter. "Welcome to my humble abode! Please, come in! Wipe your feet before you enter, though. Sure is raining a lot today." The very soggy gnome lets them all come in. "Here, I can give you the tour. This is the entrance room. It's where people enter. Over there is the fireplace room, for looking at the picture and observing the unfinished dragonchess game. This is the staircase, which probably leads to a higher altitude, and that's the corridor, which probably doesn't. Where do you want to explore?"

Finally out of the rain, Ember shakes the Wet from herself like a mangy mutt, showering her surroundings in rainwater. She titters a laugh and shakes her head as she wrings the water from her hair all over the floor, "It's not your house, silly!"

Still chuckling to herself, she crouches near the coffee table to assess the positioning of the pieces on the three-dimensional chess board. She moves an oliphant piece on the middle level orthogonally and whispers, "checkmate," as she lines it up to take the Black King. When her fingers come away dusty she notes aloud and with a small frown, "I don't think anyone has been here for a long, long time. Feels like everyone um... left in a hurry, kinda? Maybe it could be your house now, Ozyre." She moves on to the the picture, clearing it of dust with her wet fingertips. "It's like they were a family," she notes quietly then shakes her head empty of unwanted thoughts. 

Her bare feet pad with wet plip-plaps back to the main foyer as she considers Ozyre's question. "Clear the down then clear the up? Or... we could go in twos and twos! Two ups and two downs."

As he steps inside, the massive blonde bearded warrior gives the diminished giant a quizzical look. He hadn't understood that this was Ozyre's home, and now he's unsure what they were even doing here. Their quest was to find Bart the farmer, or so he had thought. He's relieved the disguised halfling sets things straight again for him. Not one for investigating and figuring things out, the soaked Thurodim instead walks through the foyer and up the stairs. "Bart, you can come out now, we're here to rescue you from the toothy dragon chicken." He calls out as he ascends that stairs.

"I like the idea of division and conquest. I say each group should have one warrior, though." The Little Friendly Giant watches as Thurodim climbs the stairs. "He probably counts as a warrior, huh?" He looks back towards Ember and [Sound of Cork Popping]. "Either of you wanna stick with me down here and check out some corridors?"

As Thurodim climbs up the staircase and calls out to the residents of the house, he is met with a still silence, disturbed only by the creaking of the wood of the stairs under the heavy boots of the barbarian. 

The flames of the fireplace not being able to reach the second floor, Thurodim is back to having minimal vision due to the darkness. Once he’s up, he’s met with a wall and a corridor on his left and on his right. 

Ember's wide eyes follow Thurodim as he ascends into the darkened second story and she instinctively shifts away from the shadowed staircase. "I... um... maybe Cork could..." she repeatedly curls and uncurls her index finger in a point at the stairs, "go up there?"

Her weights shifts from foot to foot as she continues to back away, eventually bumping into the kenku. She looks up backwards at the underside of his long beak above her and hurriedly clarifies, "I'm not scared or anything though!" In a whisper she adds, "But you should take some fire with you," and points at the crackling flames before looking around for any candles.


((If any are found, she'll light them and then use control flames to double the area of bright light cast by the flame))

Cork cautiously steps into the dark home.  

Once it becomes clear he has been volunteered to accompany the barbarian upstairs, he gulps silently and then track up the stairs behind him, his clawed feet clicking and clacking softly on each step.

Not particularly bothered with if it was a sensible thing to do, the massive blonde bearded warrior lights a torch from his backpack and proceeds, nodding at the bird man as he clicks and clacks up the stairs, then opening the nearest door to quickly peek inside, just to make sure Bart the farmer and his extended family weren't all huddled up in there, then proceeding to the next one until the upper floor is all covered.

Perception: 18

Ozyre talks to Ember without looking at her. "Well, that leaves you and me to go check out..." He slowly turns his head towards her, then says with dread, "THE CORRIDOR!" His voice returns to its normal jovial tone. "C'mon!" He bounds down the dark corridor, presumably with Ember in tow. "My gnomish eyes can lead the way. I only have one pair, though, so you might want to get some more fire. Controlled fire. Very controlled fire." 

Ember manages to find a small beewax candle on a candlestick in the living room. With a few arcane words and some simple hand gestures, the candle burns somewhat brighter than it normally would (10 feet of bright light and 10 dim light). She and Ozyre then head down the corridor, walking alongside the staircase where [Sound of Cork Popping] and Thurodim have gone up. The wood floor cracks and creaks under your foot steps, particularly Ozyre's as he carries more heavy equipment.

At the back, you manage to find what appears to be a kitchen and dining room. A large table with six wooden chairs sits in the middle of the room. There is leftover plates and utensils on the table, which are all covered in a fine layer of dust and a few cobwebs. There are cabinets along the walls containing more cooking tools and plates. The room contains two other doors: a small one right to your left as you enter the room, and another one on the opposite wall. You notice a faint buzzing sound coming from the small door to your left. As you approach it, a particularly pungent and unpleasant smell hits your nostrils.

On the second floor, Thurodim is joined by [Sound of Cork Popping]. With the light of the torch (20 feet bright light/20 feet dim light), you can all easily see the corridor going on either side. On the left, about 15 feet from your position, there are two doors on either side of the corridor walls, neither seeming to be locked. On the right, about 25 feet ahead, you see another set of two doors.

Choosing to go to the nearest door, Thurodim heads left and opens the door to the room oriented towards the back of the house. Inside is a well-furnished room, with a large window probably giving a view of the back of the house. There are cabinets, nightstands, a mirror and double-sized bed. Though he has a source of light, Thurodim can't see all the details, but the bed sheets do seem to form an odd shape.

"Hiding under the bed sheets huh?" The massive blonde bearded warrior says in a deep rumbling voice, taking a step closer to the bed and using his free hand to snatch the bed sheet away.

Initiative: 6